The Centre on Thursday expressed worry as it said that Delhi NCR and Maharashtra are emerging as areas of concern. Hours after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned of a lockdown in ‘some areas’, the Union government made the alarming revelation that 8 out of the top 10 worst Covid-hit districts in the country are located in the state.
Here are the top 10 updates on the pandemic situation in Maharashtra:
– The Centre on Thursday said it is “very worried about Maharashtra”. “We are reaching a stage where all those measures (lockdown) are being brought back; it is a matter of serious concern. A word of caution for Delhi and neighbourhood as well. There is a rise in positivity rate in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Ghaziabad. Be careful and be watchful. We still have a huge proportion of vulnerable population,” said VK Paul, member (Health), Niti Aayog.
– Public health experts have reportely found evidence to suggest that India could consider delaying the second dose of the Covid vaccine to improve immunogenicity.
– Meanwhile, a number buildings and floors have been sealed. According to BMC data, there are 229 sealed buildings and 2,762 sealed floors as of March 9. It is a 23% rise from the 185 buildings and 2,237 floors cordoned off as of March 2.
– So far, 21.25 lakh people have been inoculated against the viral infection in Maharashtra, a health official said on Thursday.
– As many as 44 students of a hostel were tested COVID-19 positive on Thursday, a health department official confirmed. Last month, 47 other students from the same hostel were found infected with the coronavirus. Students between Class 8 to Class 10 are provided accommodation in this hostel. The hostel is located on the outskirts of the city, close to an English-medium school.
– While Pune tops with maximum new cases, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik, and Aurangabad are the other districts of the state with highest Covid-19 cases in the country, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a NITI Aayog Covid-19 status presentation.
– However, Indian Council of Medical Research Director General, Balram Bhargava said despite Maharashtra showing a “worrisome trend”, there are no mutant strains of the SARS-COV-2 found in the cases surging in the state. “The surge (in Maharashtra) is just related to the reduced number of testing, tracking and tracing as well as Covid-inappropriate behaviour and large gatherings,” he said.
– With the rising Covid infections in Maharashtra, the state government has stepped up the vaccination drive and allowed vaccination centres in the state to operate round-the-clock if they have adequate staff.
– Mumbai has allowed private hospitals to operate beyond working hours and has kept the daily vaccination target of 1 lakh.
– Maharashtra has seen the second highest resurgence of Covid-19 cases with a rise of 331% from its post-peak low seen for the week ending February 11 – from 2,415 average daily infections to 10,410.
– Maharashtra is the worst-hit in the country with 2,252,057 confirmed infections and 52,610 deaths till Wednesday, leads all other states and UTs by a massive margin. More than half (57%) of the 128,599 new Covid infections reported across the country in the past week have been in Maharashtra.
– Meanwhile, two health department officials have tested coronavirus positive in Jalna district of Maharashtra days after they were given the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, an official said on Thursday. These two district health officials had taken the second jab a few days back. However, both of them experienced mild symptoms of COVID-19, he said.
– Curbs and restrictions in some or other forms are already implemented in Pune (night curfew), Nagpur (near-total lockdown), Aurangabad, Palghar, Thane, Akola, Amravati, with District Collectors authorised to take the call as the local situation warrants.
– On Wednesday, Maharashtra touched 13,659 fresh cases – the highest daily tally since 13,395 cases recorded on October 8, 2020.
– The state has touched a progressive total of 22,52,057 cases till date and 52,610 deaths – both highest in India – and the count increasing afresh since the past two weeks.
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